Russian Oil Tanker in Ghana: NPA Allegedly Refuses to Explain Why Ship Was Not Stopped from Entering Ghana

• NPA CEO Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has been accused of keeping a tight lip about the presence of a huge Russian oil tanker in Ghana
• At the time the ship had not entered Ghana he told Bloomberg that the shipment of about 600,000 barrels of oil on Theseus, the ship, would be redirected if it was indeed headed for Ghana
• But since February 24 when the ship arrived in Ghana's territorial waters, Bloomberg says the NPA boss has not responded to requests to comment on the development
• Petroleum industry watchers believe that Russia is trying to offload the oil in Ghana because it cannot get buyers due to EU and US sanctions

After assuring an international news network that a Russian oil tanker that was en route to Ghana will be stopped from entering the country, the CEO of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has reportedly gone silent after the ship arrived in Ghana's territorial waters.

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According to a report by Bloomberg published on Tuesday, February 28, 2023, Theseus, the Russian oil ship, arrived in Tema last Friday, February 24, with about 600,000 barrels of crude oil.

People with an understanding of Russia's petroleum industry say the country may be planning to pump the 600,000 barrels of oil into Ghana's tankers at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR).

Russia has been struggling to get buyers for its huge crude deposits due to sanctions imposed on the country by the US, EU and their allies over Vladimir Putin's widely-condemned assault on Ukraine.

However, when Bloomberg contacted the CEO of Ghana’s NPA Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid before the ship arrived in Ghana, he vowed the shipment would be blocked if it was bound for the country.

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He most likely made the bold promise because Ghana has twice voted in support of a resolution at the UN to condemn Putin's invasion of Ukraine and the call for the Russian president to withdraw his forces immediately.

But Bloomberg reports that the NPA has failed to respond to multiple requests for comment after the ship reached Ghana.

Russia's last crude oil shipment to Ghana happened in October 2018, prompting many to believe that Theseus' arrival in Tema is a desperate move to offload crude to Ghana, or maybe sell at a much cheaper price to interested countries.

Ghana votes against Russian invasion again

YEN.com.gh reported in a separate story that Ghana voted against Russia's aggression on Ukraine at the UN for a second time during a special session that ended on Thursday, February 23, 2023.

Ghana and a total of 28 African states voted to approve a resolution calling on Russia to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine.

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Hours after Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022, the government of Ghana issued a statement to condemn Putin's aggression.

Source: YEN.com.gh